Having The Presence of the Lord

Q: What does the Bible say about the presence of the Lord?

The presence of the Lord brings rest, joy, and peace to believers, as seen in Exodus 33:14. The presence of the Lord is a crucial aspect of the Christian faith, emphasizing God's nearness and engagement with His people. According to Exodus 33:14, God's promise, 'My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest,' illustrates that His presence brings both physical and spiritual rest from the burdens of life, fear, and the struggle of trying to establish our own righteousness. Furthermore, this presence is not merely omnipresence; it signifies God's active involvement in the lives of His people. Psalm 139 emphasizes God's omnipresence, reminding us that where we go, He is already there, leading and comforting us all along our journey in life.

Q: How do we know God's presence is with us?

We know God's presence is with us through His promises, such as in Matthew 28:20 where He assures, 'I am with you always.' God's presence with His people is assured through His promises throughout scripture. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus reassures His disciples, saying, 'Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.' This promise signifies that believers carry God's presence with them, instilling confidence and comfort despite life’s challenges. Additionally, the apostle Paul emphasizes in Romans 8 that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which reinforces this assurance of His abiding presence. The internal witness of the Holy Spirit also confirms God's nearness, filling believers with peace and joy, especially during trials and difficulties, providing tangible evidence of His active involvement in their lives.

Q: Why is having the presence of the Lord important for Christians?

Having the presence of the Lord is vital for Christians as it brings rest, joy, and assurance of salvation. The presence of the Lord is paramount for Christians because it assures them of His support and guidance. As reflected in Exodus 33:14, God's presence offers rest from the burdens of sin and the anxiety of life, allowing believers to cast their cares upon Him. Furthermore, the presence of the Lord nurtures spiritual joy as indicated in Psalm 16:11, where it states that 'in thy presence is fullness of joy.' This joy transcends circumstances, enabling believers to maintain a glad heart even amid trials. Most significantly, the presence of Christ guarantees salvation and the promise of eternal life, reinforcing our hope in His redemptive work. It emphasizes the relational aspect of faith, transforming our experiences as we walk through life with divine companionship.

Q: How does the presence of the Lord affect how we handle trials?

The presence of the Lord provides comfort and strength, helping believers to handle trials with peace and assurance. The impact of the Lord's presence during trials is profound. When facing difficulties, believers can find solace in God's promise that He is with them, offering comfort and strength. For instance, 1 Peter 1:7 teaches that the trial of faith is precious, being refined through challenges. This refinement leads to greater reliance on God's strength rather than one's own, facilitating a transformation that fosters spiritual growth. Additionally, believers often report experiencing a profound peace, a joy that surpasses understanding, even in the hardest circumstances, as they remain aware of the Lord's active presence in their lives. It's through His presence that believers can confidently navigate trials, knowing He is intimately aware of their sufferings and is faithful to provide the support and grace needed to persevere.

If you would open your Bibles with me to Psalm 114. We'll begin our service reading this Psalm 114. When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of a strange language, Judah was his sanctuary. and Israel his dominion. The sea saw it and fled.

Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. What ailed thee? O thou sea, that thou fleddest. Thou Jordan, that thou was driven back. Ye mountains that ye skipped like rams, and ye little hills like lambs. Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord. at the presence of the God of Jacob, which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters. It's amazing what the presence of the Lord did, isn't it? All right. Shawn, come lead us in our singing. Okay, if you would turn to song number 216, Look to the Lamb of God. 216. If you from sin are longing to be free, look to the Lamb of God. He to redeem you died on Calvary.

Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. For He alone is able to save you, look to the Lamb of God. When Satan tempts and doubts and fears assail, look to the Lamb of God. You in his strength shall over all prevail. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. For He alone is able to save you. Look to the Lamb of God.

Are you a weary? Does the way seem long? Look to the Lamb of God. His love will cheer and fill your heart with song. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. For He alone is able to save you. Look to the Lamb of God. Fear not when shadows on your pathway fall. Look to the Lamb of God. In joy or sorrow, Christ is all in all. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. For He alone is able to save you. Look to the Lamb of God. Okay, if you would now turn to song number 176, Break Thou the Bread of Life. Break thou the bread of life.

Dear Lord to me, As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea, Be on the sacred page, I seek thee, Lord. My spirit pants for thee, O living Word. Bless thou the truth, dear Lord, to me, to me, as thou didst bless the bread by Galilee. Then shall all bondage cease, all fetters fall, and I shall find my peace, my all in all. Thou art the bread of life, O Lord, to me. Thy holy word, the truth that saveth me. Give me to eat and live with thee above. Teach me to love thy truth for thou art love.

O send Thy Spirit, Lord, now unto me, that He may touch my eyes and make me see. Show me the truth concealed within thy word, and in thy book revealed, I see the Lord. All right, if you would now open your Bibles with me to Exodus chapter 33. Exodus chapter 33.

I told Janet this week I was very excited about preaching this message tonight. I thought it would be a real blessing to us. And now that the time is here, I sure hope so. I sure hope so. Psalm 33, or Exodus 33, excuse me, we'll read the first 15 verses.

And Lord said unto Moses, depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I swear, unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, unto thy seed will I give it. And I will send an angel before thee, and will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

For I will not go up in the midst of thee, for thou art a stiff-necked people, lest I consume thee in the way. And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned, and no man did put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said unto Moses, saying to the children of Israel, ye are stiff-necked people. I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment and consume thee. Therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

And Moses took the tabernacle and pitched it without the camp afar off from the camp and called it the tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass that everyone which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. And it came to pass when Moses went out under the tabernacle, that all the people rose up and stood every man at his tent door and looked after Moses until he was gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle and the Lord talked with Moses. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door And all the people rose up and worshiped, every man in his tent door. And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

And Moses said unto the Lord, see thou sayest unto me, bring up this people, and thou hast not let me know whom thou will send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast found grace in my sight. Now, therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight, and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, my presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, if thy presence go not with me, Carry us not up hence, and we'll end our reading there.

Let's bow before our Lord together. Our Father, we've gathered here together this evening in the name of your Son, our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, we've gathered together to worship you. We've gathered together to hear word from thee that our hearts might be thrilled at hearing one more time the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We've gathered together that our souls may be edified and strengthened through hearing the preaching of Christ our Savior. And Father, like Moses of old, how we pray in this hour that your spirit go with us.

Without thee we can do nothing. We won't be able to worship, we won't be able to hear, we won't be able to believe, we won't be able to be strengthened and encouraged by the message without your presence upon us. And Lord, you promised where two or three are gathered together in your name, there you'll be in the midst of them. And we beg your presence this evening that you might be pleased to show us your glory, the redemptive glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you might reveal him to each heart here this evening, that you might mix faith with everything that we hear from your word tonight.

Father, bless us for Christ's sake, we pray. What we pray for ourselves, we pray for your people all around the world, wherever they're meeting tonight. Father, bless for your great namesake and for the good of your people. Father, we're so thankful for the Blessings of this life how? Richly that you have blessed us father. We're so thankful We know everything we have has come as a gift from your open hand Not because we deserve it or earned it, but as a gift of your free grace and father. We are thankful And father we pray for our country and indeed the whole world at this time that father you would be with our leaders that you would turn their hearts to wisdom and that you might once again grant us peace in the land.

And we dare not forget father to pray for your people that you brought in the time of trouble and trial. They're heartbroken, they're in sickness and great difficulty and trial. Father, we pray your spirit be with them. We have learned by your grace that we can go through any valley, any darkness, any trial, any deep waters. As long as you're with us, don't take your presence from his father. Comfort our hearts with your presence.

And then when it is your time that you'd be pleased to deliver all these things we ask, and we give thanks in that name, which is above every name. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ is for his sake and his glory. We pray. Amen. Now I've titled the message this evening, Having the Presence of the Lord.

I'd like to start out, our jumping off point would be verse 15 here, where Moses said unto the Lord, if thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. And I don't really remember the first time I read that verse and really read it, really heard it. But since then, that certainly has always been my prayer. Every time I get ready to go preach That's my prayer, Lord, if your presence don't go with me, don't let me go.

Let's cancel the service. Let's do something. Stop the service if your presence does not go with me. And after years of praying that way, I thought, you know, Frank, that's not real smart. This ought to be my prayer all the time. I mean, I don't want to go to the post office if the Lord's present and doesn't go with me. I don't want to go around the block.

I don't want to, whatever we do, Lord, don't let me go. If your presence doesn't go with me, because without you, we can do nothing. And it's interesting to me here that the Lord, look, he says in verse 14, which is what prompted Moses to say this, the Lord said, my presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest. And then that's when Moses said, you know, I'm sure he's saying, thank you, Lord. If I presence go not with me though, carry us not up hence. Now that's interesting, isn't it? He said, my presence shall go with thee.

Like there is a time that his presence would not go with us. Doesn't that make sense that that could be, but we know our Lord's omnipresent. He's everywhere at once. He's everywhere. So look at Psalm 139, Psalm 139. David talks about this. John Chapman, I remember him saying one time, everywhere there's a where, God's there. Everywhere there's a where. He's omnipresent. Look what David says, Psalm 139, verse seven.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell or in the grave, behold, thou art there. Everywhere I go, the Lord's already there because he's omnipresent. But look what the psalmist says here in verse nine.

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. Now the Lord, it's not just that he's there wherever his people are, like he's there but he's a bystander, not involved with anything. God's people have a special relationship with our God, that he is active when he's there with his people. He's actively holding his people. David says, wherever I go, there your hand shall hold me.

Our father holds the hands of his children in affection, just like we would hold the hand of a toddler or something before we cross the street. We're doing it to keep them safe. Our father holds our hand to keep us safe, keep us from wandering into traffic or something. He holds his bride in his arms like a husband holds his wife in his arms. He holds us in his hand so that we're always safe in his hand. No man can pluck them out of my hand, he said.

And I've been thinking about this thing about the presence of the Lord, having the presence of the Lord, how miserable Moses would have been if he had had to lead that people to the promised land without the presence of the Lord. And I can't find the words to say what a blessing it is that we would have the presence of the Lord with us. And I can't really think of the words to say what a blessing that is, but I found five places in scripture I want us to look at to see the blessing of having the presence of the Lord. And the first one's here in our text, Exodus 33 verse 14. If we have the presence of the Lord, We have rest. And the Lord said, my presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. If we have the presence of the Lord, we have rest.

We have rest from trying to work to obey a law that we cannot obey. We have rest from trying to produce a work of righteousness that we cannot do. I think one of the most stressful things in this world is trying to do something you can't do, you don't know how to do. We have rest from trying to establish a righteousness that we cannot produce if we have the presence of Christ.

If we have the presence of Christ with us, there's rest from fear. There's no fear of condemnation. We cannot be condemned if our substitute, who is condemned for us, is with it. He'll never allow that to happen. If he was condemned for our sin, he'll never allow us to be condemned for our sin. And if we have his presence, we have rest from condemnation.

We have rest from that awful, awful fear that sin makes the guilty fear. I mean, isn't it just a horrible feeling when you know you've done something and you're guilty and the The feeling of dread of punishment, the feeling of feeling so awful about yourself that you're guilty. But if we're in the presence of Christ, we have rest from that fear. And I wanna show you something. Look here at Genesis chapter three. Genesis chapter three, verse eight. This is after Adam ate the fruit that the Lord told him not to eat, and when he ate it, Eyes of Adam and Eve were open.

And verse eight, and they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord amongst the trees of the garden. That fear that guilt causes made Adam and Eve hide from the presence of the Lord.

And you know why they were hiding? They were scared of the Lord, given what they deserve. They knew they were guilty, and they were so ashamed. And they hid from the presence of the Lord. Now, number one, that's foolish, because you can't hide from the presence of the Lord. He's everywhere. But worse yet, they were hiding from the presence of the Lord when they should have been running as fast as they can into the presence of the Lord, begging Him for forgiveness, begging Him for mercy, and begging Him for grace.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. And I'll tell you what that means. If you're a sinner, don't hide from the Lord. Run to him. Run to his presence to have the forgiveness of sins, to have that peace, that rest that comes from you not worrying about condemnation anymore.

And this is why we must keep preaching and hearing the gospel. because the flesh will always do the opposite of what we should do. The flesh will always do the wrong thing, and we need to be constantly being reminded, run to Christ. Run to Christ. In your shame, and your guilt, and your fear of condemnation, knowing what you deserve, run to Christ. David said, there is forgiveness with thee. Christ forgives our sin.

We have rest from all fear, don't we? Rest. Now, I'll tell you another meaning of this word rest. It does mean rest like, you know, we normally use the word, but it also means this, to settle down, to settle down, just calm down. You parents, how many times have you told your children, just settle down, just calm down.

If we're in the presence of the Lord, we have his presence, We're not going to get overly emotional and overreact to situations because we have his presence. His presence is so much better than any other trial and error thing. There's just no fear. If we're in his presence, he'll take care of it. I don't have to worry about it. He'll take care of it. There's rest from feeling like you got to go take care of this situation yourself.

If you're in the presence of the Lord, what can ever come up in our lives? that our Lord can't handle. And the second question would be this, what comes up in our lives that we can't handle? Well, since we can't handle anything, and he can handle everything, if we're in his presence, we have rest from fear.

Then number two, look back at Exodus chapter three. Exodus chapter three. Verse five, this is when Moses saw the burning bush and he's gonna walk up and see this bush that was not consumed. In verse five, he, the Lord, said, draw not nigh hither, put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

Now why was that ground holy? It's just dirt, it's not, it's because the Lord was there, because his presence was there. Everything that is around the Lord that he touches is holy. Not only is it sinless, it's set apart for holy use simply by his presence. Now what does that possibly have to do with the believer?

Well, if you have the presence of the Lord in you, you have a holy nature that's in you. You've been born again. with a new nature. It's a holy nature. It's called the new man. It's the nature of Christ. And that nature is holy. And if you've been born again, you have it. Let me show you that. Two scriptures. First Corinthians chapter three. First Corinthians chapter three. Thank you for that fan, Sandy. What did I say? Yeah, 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16.

Know ye not that you are the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you? If the spirit of God dwelleth in you, you have a holy nature. It's the Holy Spirit. Look at 1 John 3. 1 John 3, verse 9. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he's born of God. That spirit, that nature, that new man that's born of God cannot sin, because he's holy. Now for a sinner, that all we are is sin, Holiness is the furthest thing from us.

And to be given this holiness because we have the presence of the Lord. I tell you what a blessing that it is. We have no hope without it. The writer of the Hebrew said, without this holiness, no man shall see the Lord. But if he's made us holy, you shall see the Lord. You see him through a glass dimly now, don't you? You see him by faith now. You see him in his word now. But there's a day come when you're going to see his smiling face, face to face with nothing in between, and be accepted, because he made you holy.

I tell you how special this is, and this is probably a silly example, but I thought of it as I was preparing these notes. Some years ago when I worked for a chain of convenience stores, we had a vendor who was a huge sponsor, whatever you call them, of the SEC basketball tournament. I got to go with them to the SEC basketball tournament. And it was in New Orleans.

And when we got there, there's a goodie bag and stuff, you know. And inside the goodie bag was a badge. You wear this thing around your neck. And because I had that badge, I could go anywhere. except the locker rooms, except the locker. I could go anywhere. I went to where the coaches and the media ate lunch and sat down and ate lunch. I went into the Saints locker room. I mean, just everywhere you went, somebody would see that badge and say, go on. I mean, I felt so special I could go anywhere because I had that badge.

If you have the presence of the Lord in you, You have holiness, you are holy and you are accepted into the presence of God anytime you want. This whole book is for you. It's written for you and you're accepted into the presence of God anytime because you're an object of the grace of God Almighty.

A man told me one time, he so strongly disagreed with with the doctrine of election. And he said, well, you people that think you're one of the elect think you're special. Yeah, yeah. Not special in myself. A special object of God's grace that he would choose to be merciful and make a sinner like me holy. That's pretty special, isn't it?

And we have that with the presence of the Lord. All right, third, look at Psalm 116. or I'm sorry, Psalm 16. If you have the presence of the Lord, you have joy. Psalm 16, verse 11. Thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures evermore.

If you have the presence of the Lord, and you are, I mean, the believer always has the presence of the Lord, but you know there are times that you enjoy it, that you sense it more than other times. When you have a sense of His presence, presence would palaces prove, wouldn't they? Just everything is a joy. It just, if you have His presence, it just makes you glad and rejoice. I don't care what's going on. If you have His presence, you have eternal life. What joy is it to have eternal life? You have no sin. If you have Christ, you have no sin. Sin's what causes all our grief. If you have his presence, you have no sin.

If your master is there with you, you've got no worries. I mean, you talk about having a tiger by the tail and a downhill pull and a shady side. If you've got the presence of the Lord, you have no worries. If you have the presence of the Lord, you don't have loneliness because He's with you, because He's with you.

You know, you can have, be in a bodily situation where you're in a time of great trials, whether it's pain or whatever it is, you know, suffering, suffering, and in the midst of that, you'll experience such calmness and such joy. And somebody doesn't know Christ can't understand that. How can you have such joy? You're here in just such absolute misery. I can remember being in the hospital with all that pain and stuff I was going through. And there were times it was just, I was just out of my mind with pain. It's just so horrible.

But then, there'd be such joy thinking about Christ, thinking about who he is, thinking about his mercy to somebody like me. There's just such joy in that, that this thing, it's, I mean, you know, I'm glad for the doctors and nurses and so forth, but they're not determined the outcome of this thing. The Lord is to have his presence. You just, you can have such joy even in the midst of a great heartache. And they're just, When I told you there's no language, I couldn't think up words to describe what it, the joy of having the presence of the Lord. I'm in good company.

Look at first Peter. First Peter one. In verse seven. that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than a gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found under praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen ye love, in whom though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Peter, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, even then couldn't describe the joy of having the presence of the Lord.

He said it's unspeakable. But if you've experienced it, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Exactly. And if you look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15, so much of our joy comes from the death and the resurrection of Christ. Without his resurrection, really, there'd be no reason for us to have this joy. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 16. Paul's speaking to those that say, oh, the dead don't rise. The dead never rise. He says, well, if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain. You're yet in your sins.

Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. You'd think how miserable we'd be without a hope in Christ. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

If the Lord Jesus had suffered and died and not been raised from the dead, we'd be miserable. because there'd be no hope of eternal life. There'd be no hope of the forgiveness of our sins if the blood of Christ is not enough to pay for my sins. If the suffering of Christ and death of Christ is not enough to pay for my sin, nothing will, and I'd be so miserable I have no hope of redemption. But since Christ is raised from the dead, all of his people have the joy that Peter was talking about, joy that's unspeakable and full of glory. Since Christ was raised from the dead, we know this for sure. Whoever it is he died for, they're redeemed. They have eternal life. They can never die. And that's a good hope. And I tell you this all the time, this word hope that's used in scripture, we have a good hope through grace. That word hope is expectation.

You can expect eternal life if Christ died for you and rose again. You can expect to leave this world and open your eyes in glory in the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ. You can expect that because of what Christ did for us. He died and rose again. And that thought, that prospect, knowing that's what we're gonna have at the end of this journey is joy, gives us such joy. You know, if we would be completely miserable without salvation in Christ, without his death, his burial, his resurrection, well, I think we can all agree we'd be completely miserable. Well, then how happy should we be if Christ did suffer and die for us and rise again?

If we do hope and trust Christ, how happy should we be? Probably happier than we are. And I don't mean going around acting silly when, you know, put on this fake smile and, you know, you know that's not what I'm talking about. But it's a joy in the heart to know you have every reason to be happy. Have joy if you have the presence of Christ with you. Then number four, look at Isaiah chapter 63. If you have the presence of Christ, you have salvation.

Now we know this from reading scripture, that before God created anything, he elected a people unto salvation. Now election is not salvation, it's unto salvation. So when the time came, the father sent his son to this earth to save God's elect, to redeem them from their sins. And you know how God saved those people? He did it by making his son to be the substitute for God's elect, and sacrificing his son, making his son pay the debt for all the sin of all of his people.

That's what Isaiah 63 verse nine says. In all their affliction, he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity, he redeemed them and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. In all their affliction, he was afflicted.

Now certainly that applies to our afflictions and trials and tribulations in this life. There is nothing that a child of God goes through in this life that our Savior didn't already suffer. In all of our affliction, he was afflicted with it first, And the way Isaiah writes this sure makes it sound like that while we're being afflicted, he knows it. He's afflicted with us in our affliction. He knows what it feels like. That's why he's able to comfort.

But more importantly, this is how God saved his people from their sin. In all their affliction, in all the affliction and suffering that our sin deserves, our Savior was afflicted with it. He took all the punishment that his elect deserve, and there's no more punishment left for them. He took it all. So the cross was an act of justice, wasn't it? The father made his son to be sin for his people, and he gave him everything that sin deserved. It's an act of justice, to pay for sin through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. But our text says, or Isaiah says here, that he did it in his love, in his pity. for his people.

The cross was also an act of great love, wasn't it? What made our Savior willing to suffer everything he suffered, to suffer the indignity of having his creatures treat him this way, to beat him in the face, to lacerate his back, to strip him naked and mock him and all the, to pluck out his beard and just the, all the things they did to him. And he suffered it all willingly. Didn't try to dodge any of it.

It's because he loves his people. When it came time to be made sin, why did he not say, Father, hold everything? It's a good idea, but I can't do it. I mean, I can't do it. Why was he willingly made sin for his people? because he loves his people. He loves them so much, he took their sin away from them into his own body on the tree and put it away by the sacrifice of himself. That's love. Oh, such love for his people.

And salvation comes to us in the Lord's presence. When the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem's manger, salvation was on the earth, wasn't it? Salvation, his presence was on the earth And when God saves his people, the Holy Spirit comes to them and he applies that salvation that Christ purchased for his people. We have salvation because the presence of the Lord came to us. I'll let that sink in for a minute. Through the preaching of the gospel, the presence of the Lord comes to us.

You can't see him. Physically, you can't see him. It's just like the Lord told Nicodemus about the wind. It blows through. You can't tell where it came from, where it's going. But after it passes through, you know, it's been here. We can't tell when the Holy Spirit comes, but we can tell when he's been here because in his presence, there must be salvation.

There must be eternal life. We can never perish. The believer can never perish. any more than Christ our Savior can perish, and he never will. You know, during our Lord's earthly ministry, this is no accident, that while in his presence, no one ever died. While they were in his presence, no one ever died. And the dead were often raised from the grave at his presence when he came to them. That's what our souls have. We can never perish as long as we have his presence, because nobody can perish in his presence.

And this point, I mean, I just kind of took these points kind of in the order that they came in scripture. But kind of like I said Sunday, this is the point of it all. The point of it all is Christ getting the glory and saving his people from their sins.

He came and he purchased it by his obedience. He purchased it by his suffering and death and his resurrection for us. And he sent the gospel to us. He sends it along with his presence so that we have salvation. But thank God, the story does not end there. I'm so thankful for God's salvation. I'm so thankful for his gospel. I'm so thankful for the good news of Christ to be able to tell people. But the story doesn't just end here on earth where we trust Christ by faith, we have his presence by faith. There's something a whole lot better coming. Heaven is having the presence of the Lord forever. Look at Revelation chapter 21. Revelation 21, verse 1. Do I have the right scripture? No, it's 22. Revelation 22, excuse me.

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manna of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. Now seeing Christ face to face, that's having his presence, and that's what heaven is.

I'm sure that all the things that we read about in scripture, the pearly gates and the streets of gold and all these things, I think that that's probably all figurative speaking, and who cares? Because if we're looking into the face of Christ, you're not gonna be interested in streets of gold and pearly gates. To have his presence, it's unbridled ecstasy. just joy that you and I cannot imagine seeing him face to face. And every saint will see him face to face.

It's not like you've been to a concert, you know, there's the people down there on the front row, you know, and then there's those of us way back up here, you know, the cheap seats, and you can kind of see the band down there, but you can't really see their face. You can't see what they're doing. You can't interact with them. But those people on the front row can. There are no cheap seats in glory. There are no cheap seats in glory.

Every saint will have this blessing to see Christ face to face, up close and personal. And I use this example that I heard about from a great theologian one day. I never would have thought of this, but this is what he said. There was a day when Abel was the only believer in heaven. The only one, he's the first one, at least that we read about in scripture, assuming he was the first saint to die, the first one to be taken into heaven.

And there Abel was with the angels, with the throne, and with Christ the Savior. But Abel will not have it any better than you will. We know there are no degrees of glory, and our Savior is so great that that number no man can number, every one of them will have his presence face to face. Heaven will be just as much a joy to you as it was to Abel when he was there, and he was the only one there, to see Christ clearly, face to face with nothing in between. There can't be any more sorrow, can there? If you have him face to face. There's no more sin, there's no more fear, there's no more death. What could you possibly have to worry about or frown about if you're looking at Jesus Christ face to face?

And you'll always have it. If you're a believer, you're gonna have his presence always. Even in this life, all the way to eternity. In Matthew 28, verse 20, these were the Lord's parting words to his disciples as he was taken up into heaven. Lo, I am with you always, always, even unto the end of the world, amen. So be it, I'm with you always.

In closing, let's look at Hebrews 13. This is such a precious promise, Hebrews 13. Verse five, let your conversation, your conduct be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have. For he has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee so that we may boldly say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Isn't that a precious promise with Everything that goes along with having the presence of the Lord, his promise to his people, you'll always have my presence, because I'll never leave you.

Oh, what a blessing that is. I hope that'll thrill your heart like it did mine, because I studied that this week. Let's bow together. Our Father, how we thank you for your presence, that you give your presence to your people. Father, we're so thankful in your presence is salvation. Father, I pray that you'd be pleased to open each heart here tonight and that you'd apply your word to our hearts, that we believe it and that we go home taking advantage of this great joy, this great comfort of being in the presence of Christ our Savior.

And as you promised to never leave us nor forsake us, Father, that's our plea. Oh, don't leave us to ourself. Don't take your presence away from us. Don't leave us to our own devices. But Father, be with us. And don't let us go anywhere that you won't go with us. Father, it's in Christ's name. For his sake, we pray. Amen. All right, Sean. I think there's only one song we can sing now. So if you would turn to song number 511 and stand as we sing face to face.

Face to face with Christ my Savior Face to face what will it be When with rapture I behold Him Jesus Christ who died for me Face to face I shall behold Him, far beyond the starry sky. Face to face in all His glory, I shall see him by and by Only faintly now I see him With the darkling veil between But a blessed day is coming When His glory shall be seen Face to face I shall behold Him Far beyond the starry sky.

Face to face in all his glory, I shall see him by and by. What rejoicing in His presence When our banished grief and pain When the crooked ways are straightened, And the dark things shall be plain, Face to face I shall behold Him, Far beyond the starry sky. Face to face in all his glory, I shall see him by and by. Face to face, O blissful moment. Face to face, to see and know. Face to face with my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who loves me so. Face to face I shall behold Him Far beyond the starry sky Face to face in all His glory I shall see him by and by.

Having The Presence of the Lord

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the presence of the Lord?

How do we know God's presence is with us?

Why is having the presence of the Lord important for Christians?

How does the presence of the Lord affect how we handle trials?

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Having The Presence of the Lord

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the presence of the Lord?

How do we know God's presence is with us?

Why is having the presence of the Lord important for Christians?

How does the presence of the Lord affect how we handle trials?

Sermon Transcript

About Frank Tate

Comments

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